QUESTION

Our kitchen tile was installed 2 years ago. Yesterday it make cracking sound and now the floor is uneven. what is the reason and what should we do about it ? Please give us your expert opinion,
Thanks

ANSWER

ANSWER - If the tile is making a sound and lifting up or sinking down that would suggest that either there were voids under the tile and the tile was subjected to some sort of live load/stress that caused the tile to break and drop down.

Or perhaps the tile has no movement joints at the perimeter of the room to mitigate the stress that the tiles are subjected to from expanding and the tiles were under compression and finally released causing the tile to become loose and lift up.

If the tile is a hazard where someone can trip or cut themselves on it, then you should remove the tile and replace it with another tile.  If the tiles are constrained at the perimeter walls with no movement joint then you should install movement joints by removing the grout and filling the joints with an ASTM C920 sealant.